


I Wish We'd Met Before (They Convinced Us Life is War)

by Kirazalea



Series: Let the Darkness Lead Us Into the Light [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Flirting, Big Brother Sokka (Avatar), Blushing, Child Soldiers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Episode: s02e20 The Crossroads of Destiny, First Kiss, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Propaganda, Self-Esteem Issues, Talking, They're both trying, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko's Scar (Avatar), all in about ten minutes, and i just want to stop and talk about that for a moment, sokka being a tactical genius, sokka getting five minutes to think about how much shit he's seen, the kids in this show see so many objectively horrifying things that would give anyone nightmares, zuko recognizing that fact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirazalea/pseuds/Kirazalea
Summary: Sokka wanted to see his dad more than anything in the world. Some nights, after everyone had gone to sleep and it was just him, he thought he would let the Fire Nation burn as many Earth Kingdom cities as they wanted if it meant that his dad could hold him close one more time and never have to let go. When Katara offered to stay behind, to let him see dad, he was a hair's breadth away from agreeing.But Sokka knew his sister better than he thought he knew himself sometimes. For all her talent and kindness, she didn't have the same mind for strategy; she'd never needed to rely on it like he had. And while they’d traveled, she had been too focused on mastering her bending, and then teaching Aang to do the same, to notice all the little things that could make the difference between a successful invasion and a tragedy. Sokka had been the one to take note of everything; he was the one with the experience, and he knew that if this plan failed, it wouldn't matter if he got to see dad right now anyways because he'd never have the chance to keep him.So he let Katara go instead of him.And that changed a lot of things.tl;dr: the 'sokka was the one with zuko in the caves under ba sing se' au i realized i needed
Relationships: Aang & Katara & Sokka & Toph, Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Lu Ten & Zuko, Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka
Series: Let the Darkness Lead Us Into the Light [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1791838
Comments: 246
Kudos: 2618
Collections: AtLA <10k fics to read, avatar tingz





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: that whole arc where they expose Long Feng and everything else leading up to the finale is one of my least favorite arcs to rewatch because of how it all ends and the choices certain people make, so I haven’t actually watched it in quite a few years. I had to watch the cave scenes with Katara like seven times as I was writing this to figure out what kind of a mindset Zuko would be in for this fic and how he would’ve reacted to Sokka, so please appreciate my sacrifice lmao
> 
> Title from Dead Girl Walking (Reprise) from the Heathers musical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the playlist I had while writing this for anyone who's interested !  
> Doom Days - Bastille  
> Fake It - Bastille  
> The Good the Bad and the Dirty - Panic! at the Disco  
> The Judge - Twenty One Pilots  
> Unconditionally - Katy Perry  
> Ain’t It Fun - Paramore  
> Animal - Neon Trees  
> Boyfriend - Big Time Rush  
> Girls/Girls/Boys - Panic! at the Disco  
> Kiss the Boy - Keiynan Lonsdale  
> Taking Over Me - Evanescence  
> Dead Girl Walking Reprise - Heathers  
> The Avatar State - Soundtrack

Sokka couldn’t believe how quickly everything had gone wrong. He’d been so _stupid!_ _He’d_ been the one to tell the Earth King he could trust Azula. _He_ was the reason she was able to infiltrate the city walls.

And if she managed to take over the Earth Kingdom, it would be because of _him_.

He should have demanded to see the Kyoshi Warriors after Aang and Katara left, but he’d been too busy feeling sorry for himself. He’d been _so close_ to seeing Dad again, but the world’s needs always came first. He hadn’t wanted Suki to see him like that, hadn’t wanted to put up a facade of being happy and alright. She didn’t deserve it. She’d changed his life, his perspective on everything he’d been raised to believe, and she deserved better than him faking it for her. He’d just wanted to have a moment alone where he could be himself, with no little sisters and no powerful 12 year olds to watch over. He’d waited until it came time for the meeting before forcing himself to put his own wants behind him again. 

That didn’t change the fact that a pang of longing shot through him every time he thought about the fact that he was sitting in a war meeting with a bunch of generals that saw him as a child when he could’ve been meeting with his father instead.

 _Would Dad see him for the warrior he’d become? Had Bato told him just how much Sokka had grown and stepped up in their absence? Or had Bato told his father that while yes, Sokka_ had _grown, it wasn’t enough to join the fight? Would he still see him as a child that was too young to protect_ anyone _or plan_ anything _, let alone an invasion into the heart of the Fire Nation?_

He’d figured that stopping for a cup of tea couldn’t hurt, and having another moment before having to rejoin the men at that table was an idea he could get behind. But seeing Zuko and his uncle in there, smiling and acting like they were _innocent_ , like they _weren’t_ planning on destroying what little peace these people had (even if it was a false peace, bought with the blood of everyone that remained trapped outside these walls) had scared him. He didn’t know _why_ they were here, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

In retrospect, he should’ve known that if _they_ were here, Azula couldn’t be far behind.

He really wished he’d had the courage to greet Suki before the meeting.

When an opening appeared in the rocks above him, Sokka reached for the boomerang he knew wasn’t there anymore. He could see it peak out from under the Dai Li agent’s robes, glinting in the light of the crystals. It was a good move, taking it from him; he had the perfect shot on those guards right now, and they would never even see it coming. 

People always underestimated him because he didn’t have any bending. They always thought he’d missed when the boomerang went flying past them.

They never had the chance to figure out just how wrong they were before the weapon came sailing back around in their blind spot.

“You’ve got company,” the guard said, before his partner threw someone down the slope toward him.

Sokka felt his heart skip a beat. Who were they imprisoning him with? The only one left in the city was Toph, and he didn’t even want to _think_ about what they could have done to her if they were comfortable putting her down here, surrounded by her element. Echoes of his sister’s scream when Aang had accidentally burned her rang in his ears and made his hands shake as the panic in his chest swelled. 

For all that Toph was the toughest person Sokka had ever met, she was still just a kid, and anything that could stop _her_ from bending was too horrible to think about.

As the body tumbled down through the hole above them, the first thing Sokka noticed was that it was too tall to be Toph. The second was that their grunts and cries as their body hit the ground were too deep to belong to anyone in their group.

The third was that those cries still sounded familiar.

Sokka stood completely still as Zuko pushed himself to his knees. His gaze lifted to meet Sokka’s as the opening above them began the close. The beam of light surrounding the firebender began to shrink, closing in tighter and tighter until it was gone completely and they were left in the suffocating semi-darkness of the cave, and Sokka doubted that even the head-mistress of that poetry club could have thought of a better analogy for this guy if she’d _tried._

A very small part of him felt vindicated by that thought.

They stared at each other for what felt like a tiny infinity. He saw the other boy’s eyes flit up and down his face, lingering just a little longer on the way Sokka’s hair fell around his jawline, and irrationally, he found himself wishing that it was still drawn up in his usual wolftail. The tie holding his hair back had loosened as he was jostled by the Dai Li that had dragged him down here and had fallen out completely when they’d pushed him down that tunnel, letting his still useless body hit the ground over and over. He’d collected a few scrapes and spots from that descent that he knew would bruise.

Sokka could see shock in his golden eyes for just a moment before Zuko seemed to withdraw into himself. Slowly getting to his feet, apparently aware of the way Sokka tensed, he walked past Sokka toward one of the walls further into the cave and knelt back down. His back was to Sokka, but he refused to drop his guard. He remembered exactly how fast Azula had gone from a surrender to shooting fire directly at her own uncle’s heart.

He also remembered the way Zuko had screamed as he rushed to the man’s side, the anguish in his voice and posture as he yelled for them to leave and gripped his head in his hands like it was the only thing holding him together.

Okay, so maybe Sokka relaxed his stance a _little._

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Zuko’s shoulders lifted toward his ears a little and Sokka tensed again, shifting a little closer to a nearby group of crystals. He wanted to be able to leap behind cover if any fire was thrown. He didn’t exactly have any _other_ defense right now.

When Sokka’s question was met with silence, he was a second away from scoffing. Figures he wouldn’t be getting any answers out of his royal jerkness.

“Azula,” the rough voice said quietly. His shoulders had dropped again, his head bowed a little deeper. 

“Your crazy sister?” Sokka asked carefully.

Zuko sighed. “I thought I could take her. I thought I could be done _running_ from her.” He paused, before a barely audible laugh left his lips; it sounded pretty bitter to Sokka. “She barely even looked at me. Just left me for her puppets to deal with.”

Sokka didn’t know what to say to that. “Why are you in Ba Sing Se if you’re not with her, then?” he asked, more of an edge to his voice. If they were both planning something separately, that either meant there was a chance Sokka could use this to his advantage, or they had _yet another_ problem he’d need to deal with once he got out of here.

Zuko was silent yet again, but Sokka waited patiently, his eyes tracking the firebender’s movement very carefully. He looked like he was expecting Sokka to berate him, but Sokka wanted answers more than he wanted to take his months worth of anger out on the guy.

After another moment of quiet from Sokka, Zuko tentatively looked over his shoulder at him. Sokka stood his ground, narrowing his eyes and Zuko’s gaze dropped to the floor. “We just wanted to be somewhere safe, somewhere away from the war” he answered softly.

Okay, now Sokka _had_ to scoff, because _seriously?_ “Here I thought _I_ was the jokes guy, but that one was pretty good.”

If he hadn’t been watching him so closely, Sokka didn’t think he would’ve caught the slight flinch his words caused.

He kept going anyway.

“You chased us, _hunted us,_ for _months._ We couldn’t go a day without worrying that somehow, someway, you’d show up! You followed us across the world, you followed us to the _North Pole,_ just to get your hands on Aang, and somehow, _miraculously,_ you just happen to show up in the same city as us again?” Sokka knew this was probably a mistake, that no matter _how_ downtrodden he looked, this guy was a master firebender and a prince, and there was no doubt that he could kill Sokka on the spot if he wanted to, but he was past the point of caring. He’d been so stressed for so long without any respite, in no small part due to Zuko himself, and he still had no idea how he was going to get out of here; no one knew he was gone and he had no idea if Toph was okay or if they’d gotten to her too. So _yeah,_ if he was going to appear to listen, Sokka was going to give him his money’s worth.

“No,” he continued, voice resolute. “You have a reason for being here, and I want to know what it is.”

“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Zuko said after another moment of silence. His voice was so _Spirits damned_ **_soft_** _,_ and Sokka hated it. 

“And why don’t I believe _that?”_ he drawled, voice sharpening at the end. It prompted another minuscule flinch and Sokka couldn’t take it anymore.

“ _What?!”_ he snarled. Zuko startled at the sudden volume echoing around the chamber, wide eyes locking onto Sokka’s immediately. “You’re scared of _me?_ How do you think _I_ feel? You’re the one who chased _me,”_ he spat, pointing his finger at Zuko’s chest. _“You’re_ the one whose nation has been destroying people’s lives left and right for a _century!”_

Zuko shot forward almost immediately, hands on the ground to stabilize him. “I don’t want to _be_ one of them anymore!” His tone was almost… pleading? 

Desperate.

“And what, just like _that_ you’re one of the good guys?” Sokka shot back.

“I don’t want to be on _anybody’s_ side anymore! I don’t want to _fight_ and _hurt,_ I just…” Zuko’s eyes were suspiciously shining before he closed them. “I just want to stay with Uncle. I just want him to be happy, to not have to worry about me so much.” Zuko’s voice had gotten softer again as he spoke, until it was just as quiet as before. “I’ve put him through so much pain and he’s never once pushed me away. I’ve made so many mistakes, done so much _damage,_ and I have _no_ idea how to fix any of it.” He raised his head, eyes meeting Sokka’s once more. “But I can do _this._ I can stay out of everyone’s way. Like they always wanted,” he added under his breath. Sokka almost didn’t catch it.

“So that’s it?” Sokka repeated, though there was far less anger in his voice now. “You’re going to spend the rest of the war safe behind these walls while other people fix everything for you? While others _die_ to stop what your family has been doing for generations?”

“There’s nothing I can do to stop them,” Zuko stated, and Sokka was thrown for a moment.

“They’re your _family,”_ he said incredulously, “what do you mean _you can’t do anything?_ ”

“Exactly that.” All of the fight had gone out of Zuko’s voice. “I tried _so hard_ to be someone my father could be proud of, someone he would _listen to._ I knew I wasn’t as talented as Azula, that he would always value her for being the prodigy bender, but I _tried._ And it wasn’t enough. I searched the world for the Avatar for _three years,_ barely even stopping to sleep sometimes, and it still wasn’t enough for him to let me come back.”

Sokka almost didn’t want to ask the question, but he knew he needed the answer. “Let you come back?”

Zuko’s turned his head away slightly, hiding the majority of his scar from Sokka’s view. “I was banished. I can’t go home unless I have the Avatar with me.”

Sokka briefly revisited his memories of those first few months before the North Pole. “Your ‘honor’?” he guessed, a little sardonic. “So… you lost your honor, or whatever, and to get it back, for your father to _let you_ go back, you have to capture Aang, the most powerful person in the world? What did you even _do_ that he still hasn’t forgiven you for it after three years?” Zuko had said it had been three years since he started hunting Aang, probably three years since he’d last seen his father. It had been almost that long since Sokka had seen _his_ dad, but at least he knew that it wasn’t what his father had wanted; that his dad would love to see him again, even if just for a moment. Sokka honestly couldn’t even imagine something that was so horrible that it would make Dad _not_ want to see him again.

Zuko’s head ducked a little further. “I disrespected him,” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry?” Sokka asked. He must have misheard because, _what?_

“I-” Zuko seemed to cringe inward, his whole body tensing. “I misspoke. I spoke out against one of his generals. I thought I would be fighting him to settle the matter, and I would’ve _done_ it, he was a _horrible_ man,” he spit out quickly, “but when I turned around, it- it wasn’t him. My father told me I had to fight _him,_ that I had disrespected _him,_ but I- I _couldn’t_ fight him, I _wouldn’t._ ”

Sokka was trying to keep track of what Zuko was telling him, but none of it was making any sense. Zuko’s _father_ had forced his son to fight him? For, what? Talking out of turn? Why did there even need to _be_ a fight in the first place? He knew the Fire Nation was a couple fishes short of a full basket after so many years of war and endless violence, but that sounded cruel even for _them._

Zuko finally took a breath. “I refused to fight him,” he continued, “and he-” He cut himself off, his left shoulder coming up closer to his ear. He’d slowly been curling in on himself as he spoke, but now the scarred side of his face was completely hidden from Sokka’s view; it looked like he was now pressing it into his shoulder, and Sokka didn’t like the thought that popped into his head as to _why._ His hands were in fists, but just as quickly as he’d hunched up, Zuko squared his shoulders again, though he was still looking off to the side. “He banished me.”

“Zuko,” Sokka said, feeling unsteady. He couldn’t tell if his voice had shaken or not, but judging by the way Zuko’s eyes flicked toward him, he’d guess that it had. “How… how did you get your… scar?”

Zuko didn’t answer him, but the visible pain in his face after his story, the way he was almost shaking, was enough.

“ _Tui and La,”_ he whispered. 

Sokka tried to imagine it. Zuko seemed to be a little older than Sokka, closer to Sokka’s own age than he’d thought the first time he’d seen Zuko. Three years ago… he would’ve been close to _Aang’s_ age, to _Toph’s_ age. He still remembered what Katara had been like a year ago. He tried to imagine any of them with a scar like Zuko’s. Tried for just a second to imagine _Dad_ hurting him or Katara enough to scar them like that, and he had to close his eyes against the sickness that tore through him, the tears that rose unbidden in his eyes. 

He forcefully cleared his throat and the noise came out wet. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Zuko was staring intently at the ground in between them. “Why-” he tried, his voice breaking. He swallowed before trying again. “Why would you want to go _back_ to him after that?”

Zuko’s face twitched to something that resembled rage, and Sokka was almost thankful for the brief foray back into familiar territory, but Zuko shut himself down almost immediately. “He’s my _father_ ,” Zuko replied tersely. “He loves me, I know he does, he just- he had to _teach_ me, it was my fault-”

And no. Sokka didn’t know if he liked the guy, but he wasn’t going to sit here and listen to him try to justify this and blame _himself,_ especially not after the way he’d talked about the Firelord blatantly favoring Azula. That had hit a little too close to home for Sokka’s taste and a little more sharply than he thought Zuko had intended it to. 

“No father should _ever_ do what he did to you,” Sokka said firmly, cutting off Zuko’s words. “He shouldn’t have put so much weight on your shoulders by giving you an _impossible_ task, and he should _never_ have _hurt_ you. _Spirits_ Zuko, if _my_ dad ever hurt me like that, he would’ve been thrown out of the village and into the ocean faster than you could say _boomerang!”_

It was the smallest twitch of lips that Sokka had ever seen, but he figured that with Zuko, it probably counted as a full body laugh. Talking about his dad had made a thread of longing shoot through him again at just how _close_ he’d been to seeing him after so long (he could’ve been with _Dad_ right now instead of _trapped_ in a stupid _cave),_ but seeing something besides regret or rage on Zuko’s face made that pain a little easier to bear.

Zuko sucked in a quick breath before letting it out slowly again. “I… I know he’s done bad things, that he’s hurt a lot of people… My whole life, I was taught that we were just trying to bring our culture to the other nations; that we had it so good and we were just trying to share our advancements with them.” Sokka wanted to interject here, filled with rage at the implications of that statement, but he forced himself to hold his tongue. 

“But I’ve seen the way people here fear us,” Zuko continued. “The scars _they_ carry. I’ve heard the stories _they_ hear about my people, the way we’ve devastated their homes. There are famines because everyone who usually works the fields are fighting off people they see as invaders, people that they believe are disguising their _brothers_ and _fathers,_ sending them to the front lines to be killed by their own men, and I-” Zuko seems agitated now, tangling his fingers in his short hair. “If you had asked me a few months ago whether or not I thought my people were capable of something like that, I wouldn’t have even _hesitated_ to say no, of _course_ we wouldn’t, there’s no way anyone could ever get away with something like that if they even tried. But now…” He seemed so lost as he met Sokka’s gaze. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “And that terrifies me.”

Sokka bit his lip, eyebrows drawn low. “I…” he started off slowly. “I was raised to believe that men were meant to be the warriors; that women needed to stay home, do the cooking and cleaning and mending while the men went out to protect and provide.” Zuko looked hilariously confused and offended at his words so Sokka hurried forward, hands thrown up in surrender. “I know! I know, and _believe me,_ I’ve been thoroughly disabused of that notion _several_ times already. But… that doesn’t change the fact that I thought it was right for most of my life. But it _wasn’t,”_ he stressed. “Just because it’s what we’re _taught,_ doesn’t mean that it’s _right.”_

Zuko shifted and drew his knees up toward his chest, burying his face in his legs. 

Sokka sighed quietly, sitting down with his back against one of the crystals. He couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the firebender, which is something he never thought he’d be able to say. “Y’know... I also knew exactly what you meant earlier. About… about feeling like you can never match up to your little sister. About trying so hard and still not being sure that it’s enough.”

Zuko raised his head from his knees and looked at him. “I thought you weren’t a waterbender?”

He turned sharply away. “I’m _not,”_ he said, feeling irrationally hurt by the question.

“No, I- I didn’t mean-” Zuko groaned helplessly, cutting himself off. His head hit his knees again and Sokka could hear the thump from where he was sitting.

Sokka took a deep breath, wondering _why_ he was doing this, _why_ he was trying to comfort the person that had caused him more than one sleepless night. But he saw part of Zuko’s scar beneath his hair, remembered the way he’d flinched away and proclaimed that he just wanted some peace with his uncle.

“That’s exactly _why_ I feel like that more often than not. Katara is the last waterbender in our whole tribe. She’s been bending since she was a little kid, almost as long as I can remember. And while she was nothing to gawk at compared to what she can do _now,_ she was still… special. And I… I _wasn’t._ My parents never made me feel like I was somehow _less_ because I couldn’t bend, but it was always something that was in the back of my head. And _now,”_ Sokka scoffed, “ _now_ I’m in a group with the _Avatar,_ one of the best earthbenders in the _world,_ _and_ my little sister, who’s only gotten more impressive the more she’s learned. Compared to _that,_ I have a _boomerang._ There are days when I feel like the only thing I’m good for is making sure they don’t all _die_ from being too trusting or headstrong about something that barely even matters. And even then, I can only do _that_ maybe half the time.”

Zuko stared at him closely, looking like he was carefully debating something. “As someone who’s been on the other end of your boomerang, I can assure you you’re more effective than you think you are,” he stated dryly, before looking down to the ground again. “And… I think a knowledge of other fighting styles is vastly overlooked, especially by benders. It’s not an accident that my sister chose to travel with two non-benders.” His eyes flicked up to Sokka again. “I even learned how to use the dao, myself.”

Sokka’s head shot up immediately. “Wait, _you_ know how to use swords?”

Zuko nodded. “Even when I was a kid, I knew I’d never be able to measure up to Azula in firebending. She was just… _so_ much better at it.” He huffs and closes his eyes briefly. “You’ve probably seen that firsthand yourself. But sword work was something I took to a lot more easily than firebending. It was… It was something I shared with my cousin,” he finished quietly.

“Wait, your uncle has a _kid?”_ Sokka asked, shocked. He kind of wished he hadn’t, though, when he saw the way that Zuko’s face fell, the pain that flickered across it.

“Lu Ten,” Zuko whispered. “He was like an older brother to me. He… wasn’t a firebender,” Zuko admitted, “so learning to fight with a weapon wasn’t _disgraceful_ for him. I wanted to be just like him while I was little, so I’d play-fight with him anytime I could. When Azula started firebending before I did, he took me with him to learn from his teacher. The day my father found out I had made fire, he forced me back to the palace to start training, but I kept up with my technique whenever Lu Ten came back. He knew how much it meant to me.”

“What happened to him?”

Zuko’s shoulders drew up again. “When he was old enough, he went to fight in the war. He joined my uncle in the Siege of Ba Sing Se. Before he left, he promised that he wouldn’t be gone long, that he’d come back and visit soon. He never made it home. My uncle never really had a taste for conflict after that.”

Sokka knew it was a good thing that they hadn’t been successful in breaching the wall. He even figured Zuko probably knew it; but he couldn’t help but feel sympathy for his loss. Especially with the daily reminder he must have had living in the same city everyday. Sokka knew there were days when _he_ couldn’t stand to be in the house any longer, watching Dad stare blankly at the wall after Mom had...

“I’m so sorry,” Sokka whispered, knowing it was nowhere near enough.

“I am too,” Zuko replied. 

They were silent for a long moment. 

“I think you’re a lot smarter, a lot more _capable,_ than you think you are,” Zuko said quietly. Sokka understood the choice; it seemed wrong to break the peace by speaking any louder.

“You’d be the only one,” Sokka replied, looking away. “My friends love me, but I’m just the non-bender guy. And every adult I’ve ever met thinks I’m just a _kid._ They don’t understand that I’ve already seen war, I’ve already seen _death.”_ The image of the Air Nomads’ burnt skeletons lying in the snow, of Aang’s childlike cries as he sobbed on his knees for a lost family he’d felt he had abandoned to die, wasn’t something he thought he would ever be able to forget. “I’ve had to fight for my life and take care of everyone else with no one to turn to. But no, they still dismiss me like I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“Then they’re some of the dumbest people I’ve ever met.” Sokka lifted his head to look at Zuko as the firebender continued. “You’re an incredibly skilled tactician, you’re quick to come up with a plan on your feet, you know how to use your environment, and you take note of details other people would overlook so that you _can_ effectively use your environment. Again, speaking as someone who’s lost to you _multiple_ times, I feel like I’m qualified enough to speak confidently in that area.” He’d sounded a little more shy, a little more hesitant, with his last sentence, but Sokka almost didn’t notice because he was too busy fighting back a blush.

He was just glad his skin hid it for the most part.

He noticed that Zuko didn’t have that same advantage as a touch of pink dusted _his_ face.

“Thanks,” Sokka said, ducking his head down. He wasn’t used to the way his hair swung forward to cover his face a little, but he also wasn’t opposed to it in that exact moment.

Zuko nodded in return, and now _neither_ of them were looking at each other. 

Sokka knew this because he was currently peeking up at Zuko through his eyelashes to check.

He had to admit, he much preferred Zuko’s current hairstyle to the weird ponytail thing. 

Zuko shuffled a little on the floor and Sokka was suddenly reminded of the fact that he’d been tossed down that tunnel too.

“Are you okay?” 

Zuko sighed. “I’m fine, it’s just-” he cut himself off, looking sharply to the side.

“What?” Sokka asked, leaning in a little bit without really meaning to.

After a moment, Zuko’s jaw relaxed from the tense pose it had been holding. “It’s these _clothes._ I was _supposed_ to be serving tea to the Earth King today, so my uncle had me wear formal robes. The only downside is that they’re incredibly uncomfortable and _way_ too hot.”

Sokka raised his eyebrow dubiously. “I didn’t think firebenders _got_ ‘too hot,’” he teased.

He saw Zuko’s face flush a little and realized what he’d just said, which caused _him_ to lightly blush. He cleared his throat before trying again. “If you’re wearing something under them, I don’t mind you taking the actual robes off.” Realized that that sounded _just as bad,_ if not _worse_ than what he’d already said, he quickly forced out a laugh. “I mean, if I’d been wearing my parka this whole time, I’d be a _hot mess,”_ he added, wildly gesturing with his hand to the part of his hair that he _knew_ had been sticking up ever since he’d tumbled down into the cave.

When that just made Zuko blush even _more,_ Sokka decided to cut his losses and shut up immediately. Lowering his arm self consciously, he tried desperately to smooth that part of his hair down while Zuko was distracted unfastening his robe.

He heard fabric moving over skin as Zuko shrugged it off and couldn’t help the way his eyes flicked up towards the other boy.

He didn’t think it was fair how good Zuko looked in the dull browns and greens of the Earth Kingdom. Sokka knew he’d _never_ be able to pull that look off. 

When his eyes trailed down to see the way Zuko’s arms were complimented by the nonexistent sleeves of his shirt, he blushed harder than he had any of the times previous. He ducked his head even further down.

He thought maybe Zuko managed to look good because he was a prince. After all, Yue had also been unfairly beautiful, and she was a princess. 

But then, he was pretty sure Zuko’s uncle was _also_ technically a prince, so on second thought...

Zuko was neatly folding his robe and laying it across his lap by the time Sokka had pushed the heat in his face back enough to look up again. Okay. As long as he didn’t linger on the arms or the messy hair, he should be fine.

“Y’know,” Sokka said, drawing Zuko’s gaze to his face again; this might’ve been a mistake. “I don’t think you’re as bad as everyone thinks either.” At the slight pinch in his features, Sokka rushed on. “I mean! Um- we have a lot more in common than I... than I would’ve thought?” He trailed off awkwardly, already berating himself.

“Thank you?” Zuko offered softly. “I think?” Sokka heard him mumble under his breath.

Sokka would’ve already slapped himself if Zuko hadn’t been sitting right in front of him. What _was_ it about older royalty that left him completely floundering every time?

Sokka sighed quietly. “Look. I mean it’s not that I’m _happy_ we’re both trapped down here, y’know? But...” He looked up to see Zuko staring at him intently. “I’m glad I had the chance to get to know you,” he finished softly. “You’re... really not that bad when you’re not running around after me.”

Zuko still looked down, and Sokka worried that he’d put his foot in his mouth _again_ with that last part; but then he saw the tiny smile that did more to light up Zuko’s face than his flames ever had and felt his lips turn up in an answering smile.

Sokka realized that between the way he’d been leaning forward and Zuko moving around while taking off his robe, they’d gotten a lot closer together. He also realized that he didn’t really mind it. He didn’t feel the need to tense up and prepare for an attack. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever really seen you with your hair down,” Zuko noted lightly.

Sokka felt his cheeks get a little warmer. “Oh. Uh, yeah. It’s- I normally wear it in a wolftail, but the, uh. The tie fell out earlier.”

“It’s... nice,” Zuko said softly.

“Your’s isn’t too bad either,” Sokka replied with a small smile.

Zuko smirked back at him, gentle self-deprecation written all over his face, and Sokka felt the way his heart beat just a little harder in his chest. “It’s definitely a lot less maintenance this way.” 

Sokka thought about the way Aang could wake up in the morning and immediately be ready to go. “Yeah. That sounds about right.”

If his heart had kicked up a little at Zuko’s smile, he was pretty sure he was practically _shaking_ when he heard Zuko’s quiet laugh. It was a really nice sound. 

One Sokka honestly wouldn’t mind hearing a few more times.

“I wish…” Zuko trailed off, pressing his lips together.

“What?” Sokka asked.

Zuko looked up into his eyes and Sokka felt captivated. “I wish I’d never chased you. I wish things could’ve been different; that I wasn’t responsible for so much bad; that we could’ve met in a world where we could just be _us._ The Avatar asked me once... if he thought we could’ve been friends in a different life. I hope in that life, _we_ could’ve been friends too.”

Sokka couldn’t have said when he’d started leaning in closer to Zuko.

He _really_ couldn’t have said when Zuko had started leaning in toward _him._

But he could definitely tell you when the earth started to rumble and crystals started shattering behind him. The split second before the broken crystals shot outward, he put his hand on Zuko’s chest and _pushed,_ laying himself on top as a few of the shards went flying over them. 

It wasn’t until he heard a hesitant call of “Sokka?” and quiet chuckling that he thought about what this position must look like outside of a _potentially life saving situation,_ thank you very much. He quickly sprang to his feet and rushed over to where Aang was standing, his head tilted to the side a little. 

“Aang!” he called out, pulling the smaller monk into a hug, noticing the way Zuko’s uncle had called out his name at the same time. When he pulled away, he saw that Zuko had also been treated to a hug. 

“Is Toph with you?” he asked worriedly, focusing himself again. 

“Yeah,” Aang replied quickly, “we ran into her just outside the city while we were flying back. She’s warning the Earth King with Katara right now.”

Sokka let out a small breath of relief at the news that Toph hadn’t been caught, before he really processed just what Aang had actually said.

“Wait, she was _where?”_

“Better question,” Zuko said from behind him. He was facing his uncle, but his eyes were on Aang. “What are you doing with the _Avatar?”_

“Saving you, that’s what,” Aang replied curtly before the older man could speak.

Zuko’s eyes narrowed at Aang’s tone, but his uncle put a restraining hand on Zuko's chest, not far from where Sokka’s own hand had been a minute earlier.

“Zuko. It’s time we talked,” he said, voice deep and warm, but Sokka could hear the seriousness behind it. He then turned to look at Sokka and Aang, a reassuring smile on his face. “Go help your other friends. We’ll catch up with you.”

Aang smiled back and bowed before grabbing Sokka’s arm and pulling him along down the tunnel he’d created. As he entered the tunnel, Sokka couldn’t help the way he turned to look back. 

His eyes met Zuko’s and for a moment, he almost wanted to pull his hand out of Aang’s grip so that he wouldn’t have to lose sight of the other boy. It was only when Zuko’s eyes dropped to the ground that Sokka finally started moving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you could probably tell, I love when Sokka is admired for how much he actually does. Basically the entire Bato of the Water Tribe episode was a dream for me because it showed that Sokka already knew exactly how to make use of bending to get the best result, even though he himself couldn’t use it. He knew his own strengths and the strengths of the people around him and was quick to think of a way to use them, not to mention the fact that he was awake for approximately two seconds before figuring out how to stop June’s shirshu. I also don’t think we talk enough about just how fucking stressed that kid must be. I mean he’s like 15 and he’s watching over a bunch of superpowered kids that have to stop an entire war basically on their own. Not to mention how often things go wrong for them and how often they nearly die. When there was a shooting (it was just a bb gun, thankfully no one died) at my school a couple years ago, my older brother called me immediately, freaking out over if I was okay or not, and almost crying with how panicked he was. You can’t convince me that Sokka isn't same way with his baby sister and his new little siblings
> 
> I also love the idea of Lu Ten not being a bender. It adds another layer to his relationship with his family and I just find the idea of Zuko idolizing his cool older cousin adorable. There’s already a history of overlooking non-benders in most of the cultures, so I feel like there would probably be a bit quite a few downturned noses if a firebending prince chose to focus on weapons, and Ozai especially would not stand by for that shit. Anyways, I’ll stop rambling now, but I have so many thoughts on this lmao, and yes, Lu Ten (and Zuko) definitely learned from Piandao when they were younger in my mind


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish your mom had been a little stronger  
> I wish she stayed around a little longer  
> I wish your dad were good  
> I wish grown-ups understood  
> I wish we’d met before  
> They convinced you life is war  
> I wish you'd come with me

They ran down the tunnel, and Sokka found himself _really_ hoping that Aang knew where he was going, because _he_ certainly had no clue.

“We need to meet up with Toph and Katara,” he said as they exited into a large open chamber. Sokka took a quick look around, trying to find the way out. There were several openings, like the one they’d just come out of, but Sokka had no idea what the layout of these caverns was. If they weren’t careful, they’d just get lost and trapped again.

As Sokka craned his head to the side, taking distracted note of the large waterfall that fed into the room, he noticed a flicker of movement behind him, felt the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up right before a blue flash lit up the room.

“Aang!” he shouted.

He heard Aang gasp, and in the blink of an eye, there was a rock wall between them and the lightning that raced toward them. Pieces of rock exploded from the impact, forcing them both to stumble back. Sokka felt a shard of rock nick his cheek as it flew past, stinging far more than the dull ache of where larger pieces had battered his body.

Aang flew into action, pulling water from the stream beside them. A tiny tsunami rose up at his bidding, and Sokka had a brief flash of being on a fishing boat with an old man, the water rising up impossibly high in front of them; he felt a spark of that same fear before the water came crashing down around Azula, but another flash of blue light shone through the raging water and steam began to fill the room, obscuring her from view. Aang walked backward toward him, hands up in a defensive position. Sokka moved closer to Aang, ready to push him out of the way if she came at them from behind.

Another moment where all he could hear was their heavy breathing passed and then he caught sight of Azula jumping off of one of the larger crystals. Still suspended in the air, two blasts of flame shot from her fists and Aang moved into action once more. Movements flowing perfectly together, he raised a shield of water above them, taking the impact of the fire and dissolving it. He saw his friend’s foot stumble for a split second before it was firmly grounded again.

While Aang looked for Azula, Sokka glanced around as quickly as he could; he needed a _weapon,_ something he could fight with! He might not be able to do much compared to the two benders, but he’d feel better if he at least had something in his hands.

_There!_

As he snatched up a jagged piece of crystal that still looked mostly intact, a rumbling noise filled the room. Sokka watched as the ground tore itself apart on a path toward Azula. He thought he saw her eyes widen as the pillar she was perched on gave way and she jumped.

She landed between them, one hand pointed at each of them. Sokka gripped his impromptu weapon tighter, feeling the rough edges scrape against his palm. He was the non-bender; he had no way to block her if Azula targeted him, and she knew it. This battle would be about _speed,_ about him being quick and smart enough to guess her next move and get out the way before the hit could land. Attacking for their side would be entirely up to Aang unless Azula slipped and Sokka could get in close enough. Sokka knew how much the monk hated fighting offensively, but he hoped for both of their sakes that he wouldn’t hesitate too much.

Just as Aang moved, grabbing the water once more, Azula turned toward him and Sokka was already moving out of the way. He leaped behind an outcropping of crystals as blue flame licked the floor where he’d been standing a second earlier. The sound of rushing water and flames pierced the air and Sokka cursed himself. He was a _liability;_ if he tried to help, Azula would force Aang to give up ground in order to protect him, leaving himself open in the process. If he stayed back, Aang was facing a dangerous bender alone. _Spirits_ he wished he had his boomerang back; at least then he had some range to work with.

His mood fell even further when he heard footsteps echoing around the chamber as two Dai Li agents entered through the same tunnel Sokka and Aang had come through. Aang was now the one surrounded and Sokka was beginning to panic. Azula was a nightmare, but she was just one person. Now they were outnumbered and Sokka _couldn’t do anything._

Sokka looked back toward Aang and he could read the fear that was written plainly across his entire being. His eyes skipped just past his friend and locked onto the waterfall.

If there was an entrance for it, that meant there had to be a way out for them.

Decision made, Sokka moved out from his cover. He was close enough to one of the agents that he took the chance and threw the crystal in his hands as hard as he could. The agent cried out when it impacted, crumpling to the floor. His partner flung himself around to face the new threat and Sokka raised his hands into a position he’d seen Katara in dozens of times. He hoped this agent didn’t know he wasn’t a bender, that he would buy his bluff at least long enough for Aang to get them out of there.

It seemed to work because for a moment, no one moved. Sokka was as close to bouncing on his feet as he could be without actually moving; speed and surprise were his only tools, though they meant less now that there was an earthbender that could trap him with the very thing he was standing on at any moment.

Terror shot through him again when he vividly recalled the sound of Aang and Katara’s screams as General Fong pulled his sister into the ground; the _fear_ on her face as she sunk further and further down until she was _gone._

Sokka thought he would rather burn.

Just as Sokka thought the tension might suffocate him long before the Dai Li had the chance, another shot of flame burst into full bloom in the space between the four of them. They all recoiled slightly, Sokka throwing his hands up to protect his face as he stumbled back a step. When he looked up again, he saw everyone else’s faces turned back toward the tunnel once more.

Zuko stood there, one hand pulled into a fist beside his eye as the other was fully extended in front of him. Sokka watched him closely, but couldn’t tell if he was tense or loose, enraged or calm; he just looked… determined.

Sokka didn’t know what that meant for them.

He didn’t know why his uncle wasn’t with him.

No one moved, other than the Dai Li agent, who had turned toward Zuko to face the more prominent threat. Sokka took a quick glance over at Azula, who didn’t seem to know what to make of her brother’s entrance either, her face stoney and shut off. As another moment passed in tense silence, her demeanor changed, her face and posture relaxing and opening up just enough.

“ _Help_ me, Zuzu,” she said, voice softer and kinder than Sokka had ever heard it.

Sokka saw the way Zuko deflated for half a second and he threw caution to the wind.

“Zuko, _please!”_ he yelled.

All eyes in the room immediately turned on him and it took everything he had in him not to run. He only had eyes for Zuko and the way the other boy still hadn’t moved from his ready stance.

“I’m sorry,” Sokka said hoarsely, just loud enough to carry across the room to him. “I’m _sorry_ that you don’t have the family you deserve. I wish your dad never hurt you, that he could love you the way he _should.”_ Sokka took another step forward, seeing the way Azula was smirking as if she’d already won and was just enjoying the free show. “I wish _we_ didn’t have to be the ones to shoulder the burden of this war, that we didn’t have to see all the _horror_ and _tragedy!_ ” he shouted. “I wish it could just be _us,_ without the _nightmares_ and the _death;_ that we could’ve met before life sent us spiraling down this path that none of us asked for, but it _did!_ They convinced us that life is war, but it doesn’t _have to be!”_ Sokka barely knew what he was saying at this point, saw the way Aang was staring at him like he’d never seen him before, but he wouldn’t, _couldn’t,_ stop. “ _Please_ Zuko,” he begged, tears clouding his vision as he stared determinedly at the boy he _knew_ he would’ve kissed if Aang had been a minute later. 

Azula’s mocking laugh rang in his ears, Aang’s wide eyes burned in his vision, fear for Toph and Katara tore at his heart, but his eyes never left Zuko’s. 

He saw the second that Zuko’s eyes dropped to the ground before flicking up to resolutely meet his gaze again, his expression never changing. 

And he ducked out of the way the moment Zuko’s aim changed to the Dai Li agent, distracting him with the attack as Sokka came up behind him, another piece of rock in hand.

As the second agent fell to the ground, Sokka ran behind cover again, blue flame licking at his heels. He heard Aang’s yell as water crashed to the ground again, Azula’s flames roaring through the air. He peaked carefully over the rock when he heard light footsteps rushing toward him, though he brightened a little when he saw that they belonged to Zuko, his hand firmly holding onto something that shined in the light of the cavern.

“Boomerang!” Sokka yelled happily as Zuko jumped behind cover next to him. Flames washed over the top of them, barely missing Zuko’s head and he panted for breath. 

Zuko shot him a small smile, holding out the weapon like an offering, and Sokka took it eagerly. _Now_ he was back in the fight.

“We need to get out of here,” Sokka said immediately.

Zuko nodded. “I know. I-” he stuttered but quickly moved on. “I know I can’t beat her, that _Aang_ can’t beat her, but we have to hold her off until my uncle gets here. He was trapped in crystal but he told me to leave him and help you, that he’d get himself out and that I shouldn’t waste any more time.”

Sokka put his hand on Zuko’s arm reassuringly. “He’ll be here.” Zuko’s face lost a little of the worry that had crept in, so Sokka pointed toward the waterfall that they could just barely see past the rocks. “That’s our route,” he said. “You need to let Aang know, he’s the only one that can waterbend us up that thing.”

Zuko nodded and stood up, ready to let Aang in on the plan, but Sokka tightened his grip on Zuko’s arm, tugging him back down for a brief moment. He figured he had nothing left to lose at this point, so he pressed his lips carefully to Zuko’s cheek before letting go again.

“Be careful,” he said, leaving no room for compromise in his voice.

Zuko’s cheeks were flushed again, his eyes wide as he looked a little shocked, but he shook himself and nodded again, a little shyer this time. As he tore off toward Azula, Sokka noticed that his cheeks were still bright.

He’d count that as a victory.

He needed every one that he could get.

As the three benders engaged each other, elements and people flying through the air in a way that Sokka wouldn’t have believed was possible a year ago, he noticed that more Dai Li agents were streaming in from multiple entrances. Sokka steadied his breath before taking his first shot at one in front. As he fell, Sokka was once again on the run, trying to keep off the ground as best as he could while still dodging the rocks they threw at him. He scooped his boomerang up off the ground as he ran past it, ducking as more of the finger rocks whizzed over him and impaled themselves in the walls.

He took cover behind a pillar as Aang tore the outcropping of rocks above the waterfall off and sent them flying toward where a group of the earthbenders were standing. They all sprang up and attached themselves to the wall, which Sokka thought was _completely_ unfair, when more flames forced them to lose their balance and they dropped to the ground, a few of them not getting back up.

Sokka looked over to see Zuko’s uncle standing firm, hands up and firing at the ones that remained standing.

Azula turned toward him, face drawn up in anger, and Aang took the distraction to rush over to Sokka, grabbing hold of him and speeding them toward the waterfall. Sokka held tight as they shot upward, the ground getting further and further away until they stopped at the top where it leveled out. They hid behind a low wall catching their breath after the dead sprint and bending. 

“Sokka,” Aang said, voice breaking as he looked up at him fearfully. “I don’t know if we can take them.”

Sokka swallowed back the bitter taste in his mouth and put on a determined face. “I know,” he admitted. He hated it, but Aang was right. There was no way they could stop Azula from taking the city. “We just need to get out of here. We- we can come back later,” he promised. “The people will be alright, we’ll come back and help them, but to do that, we need to make it out of here.”

Aang looked like he wanted to argue, but he dropped his head and nodded. Sokka peaked his eyes over the wall and saw that Zuko and his uncle were fighting, backs toward each other.

Aang had already leapt back into the fray, making his way toward them as he blasted a few Dai Li back with a gust of air. They slammed into the wall and took a few moments to shake it off, but got back to the fight soon enough, albeit slower than before.

Sokka aimed at them, feeling sharp satisfaction as they dropped one by one to his boomerang, the weapon curving back through the air to him every time. He saw Aang approaching, Zuko at his side, as his uncle lit up the cavern to the point where Sokka had to close his eyes and turn away. Aang took only a second to drop Zuko off before he was rushing forward again, and Sokka grabbed Zuko’s arms to steady him so that he wouldn’t fall. They both turned to watch below them, and Sokka knew Zuko was just as anxious as he was.

By the time Aang was on the ground again, Zuko’s uncle was surrounded and fighting furiously, trying to keep them all at bay. Zuko only had eyes for his uncle as Sokka tightened his grip on him to make sure the firebender wouldn’t try to rejoin him.

 _Come on, Aang,_ he pleaded silently, _hurry up._

Sokka saw the way Aang froze, though. His hands were raised to bend, but his head was turning slowly and he _wasn’t moving._ He watched as Aang slumped and turned back toward them, crystals rising from the ground to encase him like a tent. Everything seemed to stop as the crystals began glowing, darkening the rest of the room by comparison. Sokka could see the outline of Aang on the floor in his meditative pose and knew what was happening.

 _I really hope you mastered it,_ he thought as the Dai Li took a step away from the light. 

An explosion of light and crystal shot through the air when Aang burst through, tattoos and eyes glowing as he rose through the air. Sokka felt the wind pick up around him as Aang drew closer to where he and Zuko sat until Sokka was sure he could reach out and touch him. He felt the way Zuko pressed closer to his side, saw the way his eyes widened in the corner of Sokka’s vision. His shirt buffeted against his skin, still tender from the amount of scrapes and open wounds he’d collected. As Aang leveled out right in front of them, Sokka could see that he was just a moment away from unleashing his wrath against the force below them the way Sokka had seen him do so many times already; it never got any less frightening to watch that power course through him, leaving the little kid Sokka knew somewhere behind as something else took his place.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment before the first strike and Sokka could only watch in horrified muteness in that split second as an arc of lightning raced toward Aang, lighting the world up in sharp contrast as it struck. Aang’s back arched as he convulsed and shuttered in the air, the wind dropped drastically without a bender to power it.

“AANG!” Sokka felt the scream rip through his throat as he threw himself forward. He grabbed Aang’s shirt just as he started falling toward the ground and held on as tightly as he could. Freezing water rushed over his head and Aang’s body as he tried to pull him up. His arms were shaking and he felt himself start to slip forward with the harsh flow of the water, couldn’t help but wonder deliriously if this was how he died, how the _Avatar_ and _hope_ died, before he felt a weight around his legs and he was being pulled back. The rocky flooring scraped across his stomach as his shirt rode up and he felt pain in his lungs as they begged him to _breathe,_ but he just tightened his grip on Aang.

The second his head surfaced from the water, he gulped in as much air as he could. Before the dizzying sickness had fully passed, he forced the burning muscles in his arms to start working again and pulled Aang over the edge toward him. He collapsed in a gasping heap, Aang’s still body blanketing his as he closed his eyes against the spinning and the tears.

He could hear Zuko breathing close to him, hear the loud grunts and roars from below, but he couldn't connect any of it. His mind was a spiraling panic of _Aang got shot, Aang got shot, Aang is hurt,_ **_Aang got shot_** _._

If it weren’t for the faint puff of air he could feel against his neck, Sokka would think that his friend was already dead.

“Uncle!”

When Sokka lifted his head as much as he could, he saw Zuko leaning against the wall, staring down in open horror.

“Go!” Sokka heard someone yell, their voice rough and tinged with a grief that Sokka understood completely. “I’ll hold them off as long as I can, but you have to get _out_ of here!”

Sokka could hear the choked off noise Zuko made, saw the way his head ducked down like he was in pain while he too fought back tears. Then Zuko was lifting Aang off of him and yanking Sokka to his feet. He let Sokka lean on him for a moment while he got his bearings and then started dragging him away from the sounds of flame and shattering rock.

Sokka stumbled after them, taking Aang into his own arms from where he lay over Zuko’s shoulders.

“I can carry-” Zuko tried, voice rough and wet.

“No,” Sokka said stiffly. “If they come after us, you’ll have to protect us.” He didn’t add that he needed to feel Aang against him right now, that it was too easy to see his friend as a lifeless body if he couldn’t feel his breath and weak heartbeat against his own skin. 

Zuko let him take Aang.

They walked for another minute, following the slope of the water up an incline before the wall burst apart in front of them.

Zuko immediately jumped in front of them and Sokka turned around, shielding Aang as best he could. 

“Come _on!”_ he heard someone yell.

Toph.

Sokka turned around again, his arms shaking once more as he saw that Toph, at least, seemed perfectly fine. 

He pushed past Zuko, who followed after him. “Where’s Katara?” Sokka demanded.

He saw the way her sightless eyes widened as her breath cut off on its next inhale. “Is that-?” she asked in a small voice.

 _“Where is she?”_ he demanded.

Toph turned around and started running forward, so Sokka followed her as best he could. He hadn’t missed the way her damp eyes caught the light of the crystals.

When they reached a dead end, she threw herself forward, arm sinking into solid rock as she ripped it away and made an exit for them. When he followed her into the open air of what looked to be a plaza, he saw Katara standing guard next to Appa. The Earth King and his bear were seated on Appa’s back.

Katara looked over at them, a relieved smile lighting up her face as she caught sight of them, but he could pinpoint the second she saw Aang. Her eyes filled with tears as she rushed toward them. Toph walked steadfastly toward Appa and Sokka heard the king’s quiet gasp.

Katara suddenly stopped, jerking back away from them and surrounding her arms with water. 

“You!” she shouted, rage radiating off every inch of her. Zuko, who had his arm propped underneath Sokka’s to help support Aang’s head, recoiled and threw his hands up in surrender. Sokka stepped between them.

“Katara!” he shouted, turning her attention back on him, though the anger was still present. “He _helped_ us,” Sokka explained, forcing the words past the tightness of his throat. “He’s not going to attack us so _stop glaring_ and _heal him!”_

When her eyes flicked down to Aang again, she visibly deflated. “Get him onto Appa,” she directed with a shaky voice.

Sokka tried to take a step forward, but his leg couldn’t take his weight anymore and he stumbled. Zuko’s hand shot out to catch him, keeping him from accidentally dumping Aang onto the ground. 

Together, they made their way over to Appa. Toph lifted a platform up from the ground for them, and when they reached Appa’s head, Katara settled herself in and they laid Aang in her arms. Toph pushed the ground higher so that the rest of them could disembark onto Appa’s back, and almost before they had finished sitting down, Appa was rising into the air. He felt Zuko grip his shirt tightly and lean into him, not used to the sudden unsteadiness of flight.

They climbed higher and higher into the night sky. As soon as they were high enough to avoid any projectiles, Katara turned around and set Aang down, resting him against Appa’s neck. Her hands shook as she lifted the vial of water she’d held onto since the North Pole over her head. Sokka leaned forward as she drew the water out and spun it above her hand. It cast a soft glow over the two of them as she pulled Aang to rest against her. Sokka’s heart was beating so loudly that he felt like he could barely hear the wind racing past them. Zuko reached down silently for Sokka’s hand and Sokka squeezed it tightly as they watched the water spread across Aang’s back. Sokka held back a hopeful gasp as it glowed intensely before it began to dim.

When the light vanished completely, it felt like the breath had completely left Sokka’s lungs. Katara held Aang tightly as she sobbed over his body and Sokka felt numb. 

_He should’ve protected him._

He closed his eyes tight, trying to force back the tears that wouldn’t help anyone right now. Toph hadn’t moved the entire time; she sat with her hands fisted into Appa’s fur, her face blank. Zuko was clutching Sokka’s hand just as tightly as Sokka was holding onto his and Sokka thought about what Zuko had said in that cave, what now felt like a lifetime ago.

_I just want to stay with Uncle. I just want him to be happy…_

Sokka didn’t know if the man that had tried to protect them was even still alive now. If he wasn’t, it seemed like his sacrifice had been in vain.

A sharp squeeze of his hand and a bright light had Sokka’s eyes flying open again. He watched as the glow of Aang’s tattoos receded, felt his lungs begin working again as Aang groaned and Katara gasped. When she pulled him into a wordless hug, tears falling down her face onto his, Sokka let out a shaky laugh that felt more like a breath, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

_Aang was alive._

Toph relaxed enough to lean back against the bear that was rumbling softly, like it knew what had just happened. Katara gently pulled back from the hug and moved them around so that Aang could rest against her instead. 

Knowing that Aang would make it, that they hadn’t just lost him, Sokka turned to look at Zuko, who thus far hadn’t said a word.

Both he and the king were staring back at the sleeping city as they flew over it.

“The Earth Kingdom…” the king began solemnly, “has fallen.”

Azula was on the throne now. There would be no help coming for the invasion. In one fell swoop, the Fire Nation had conquered the last stronghold of an entire nation and nearly destroyed the world’s last hope.

Once again, it was all up to them to salvage the fiery carnage they were now standing in. 

Just once, Sokka wished something would work out for them.

He looked up at Zuko once more to find him already staring, his golden eyes standing out against the darkness around them like another star in the sky. 

“He’ll be okay,” Sokka whispered. He wasn’t sure if he was talking about Aang or Zuko’s uncle, but Zuko seemed to understand all the same.

“He will,” Zuko whispered back. Sokka leaned his head against Zuko’s shoulder and felt warm arms loop around him, holding him close. It was the safest he’d felt in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for so much for reading! Feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing people's thoughts ♡


End file.
